Hands of two men writing on paper between two laptops

JobKeeper Extension & Change in Eligibility

/by

On 21 July, the Government announced it is extending the JobKeeper Payment until 28 March 2021 and is targeting support to those organisations which continue to be significantly impacted by the Coronavirus.

From 28 September 2020, eligibility for the JobKeeper Payment will be based on actual turnover in the relevant periods, the payment will be stepped down and paid at two rates.

Information about the operation of the existing JobKeeper Payment until 27 September 2020 is available on the ATO website.

Business eligibility

From 28 September 2020, organisations seeking to claim JobKeeper payments will be required to reassess their eligibility for the JobKeeper extension with reference to their actual turnover in the June and September quarters 2020. Organisations will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant continuing decline in turnover test in both of those quarters to be eligible for JobKeeper from 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021.

Organisations will need to further reassess their eligibility in January 2021 for the period from 4 January to 28 March 2021. Organisations will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant continuing decline in turnover test in each of the previous three quarters to remain eligible for the March 2021 quarter.

JobKeeper payment rates

The JobKeeper payment rate is to be reduced and paid at two rates:

  • From 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021, the payment rate will be $1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks before 1 March 2020, were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for more than 20 hours per week, and $750 per fortnight for employees who were working in the business for less than 20 hours a week on average and business participants who were actively engaged in the business less than 20 hours per week in the same period.
  • From 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021, the payment rate will be $1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who in the four weeks before 1 March 2020, were working for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for more than 20 hours per week, and $650 per fortnight for employees who were working for less than 20 hours a week on average and business participants who were actively engaged in the business for less than 20 hours per week in the same period.

Keeping JobKeeper fair

The ATO is working to maintain the integrity of the JobKeeper stimulus measure through its compliance approach. The ATO is identifying fraudulent behaviour and claims relating to ineligible employees and businesses. Some behaviours that are attracting their attention include:

  • payments to people who do not meet the eligibility requirements or are not employees,
  • falsifying records or revising activity statements to meet the fall in turnover test,
  • applying for JobKeeper where there is no evidence of carrying on a business or there is no assessable income from carrying on a business,
  • employers failing to pass on the full $1500 JobKeeper payment to eligible employees,
  • multiple eligible business participant claims,
  • employees being incorrectly excluded under the one-in-all-in rule
  • There are penalties for making false claims and not complying with your obligations
  • We will also focus our attention on the application of the decline in turnover test. This will include examining situations where actual and projected turnover have significantly diverged.

If any of the above relates to you, we encourage you to review your application and contact us if you have made any errors or honest mistakes.

For more information about JobKeeper, please don’t hesitate to talk to our team today.

 

This article was sourced from the State Revenue Office of Victoria and ATO.GOV.AU